What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 20 October 2023.

The earliest mention of a church round here dates from 1228. In 1285, King Václav II invited a group of Augustine monks to Prague and decided they needed a new, better church in the same location. It was devoted to Thomas the Apostle (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/07/prague-1-day-8-na-baste-sv-tomase/).

The altar was consecrated in 1315, and it would take a mere ninety years until construction of the church was complete. And, for all that hard work, it got burned down by the Hussites in 1420.

It also got burnt down in 1520 and 1541, after which it was rebuilt in Renaissance style. It was reconsecrated in 1593, and then rebuilt again in the early 18th century.

It’s the only parish church in Malá Strana.

From an artistic point of view, its insides can be described as ‘quite good’: take a look for yourself: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Interior_of_the_Church_of_Saint_Thomas_(Mal%C3%A1_Stran%C3%A1)

It used to include The Martyrdom of St Thomas by Peter Paul Rubens (painted 1637-8), but that’s now in the National Gallery.

It still includes this 1602 painting of St Sebastian by Bartholomeus Spranger: https://www.pubhist.com/w42628

As well as four paintings by the most important early Baroque Czech painter, Karel Škréta (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/18/prague-2-day-34-skretova/).

In 2022, the church was the location for the funeral of legendary Czech singer Hana Zagorová:

Tomášská was once lived in (and died in) by Austrian-Bohemian composer Václav Tomášek (1774-1850), apparently known as ‘The Musical Pope of Prague’, which, for all I know, could actually be the most savage putdown you’ve heard all year.

I took a photo of this building on Tomášská because I liked it. Sometimes that’s all the reason you need.